1. Field of Invention
The technical scope of the invention is that of explosive shells.
2. Description of Related Art
Explosive shells generally comprise a cast explosive load placed in a metallic casing.
The casing incorporates an opening allowing the cast loading of the explosive. This opening is moreover intended to receive a fuse enabling the load to be ignited.
Shells must be able to be implemented over a wide range of temperatures (between −46° C. and +63° C.). These substantial variations lead to non-negligible dilations of the explosive which can attain several millimeters (2 to 5 mm). Furthermore, the shells are subjected to harsh mechanical environments (falls and vibrations).
The combination of thermal and mechanical shocks leads to the appearance of cracks in the explosive load. These cracks may lead to its inadvertent ignition when the shell is being used.
A shell comprising a composite explosive is known by patent EP1338860. So as to overcome the problems linked to the dilation of the explosive load, this shell comprise a bag-shaped case made of an elastic material, such case being placed between the shell casing and the load. Additionally, a retention washer is applied to one surface of the explosive load by screwing a fastening ring of the fuse.
With such a shell, the shell must be loaded with the composition, it must be polymerized by baking, and then an upper face of the load must be machined before positioning the retention washer.